Sunday, December 11, 2011

1934 Coup Boo

FDR's Political Career And The 'Regulation' Of Big Business

This is the first part of a series Vyzygoth did called The 1934 Coup Boo.

In 1934, Smedley Butler came forward and reported to the U.S. Congress that a group of wealthy pro-Fascist industrialists had been plotting to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a military coup. Even though the House Un-American Activities Committee corroborated most of the specifics of his testimony, no further action was taken.

Smedley Butler's Testimoney At The McCormick-Dickstein Hearing And Media Blackout

This is the second part of a series Vyzygoth did called the 1934 Coup Boo.

In 1934 he was involved in a controversy known as the Business Plot when he told a congressional committee that a group of wealthy industrialists had approached him to lead a military coup to overthrow Franklin D. Roosevelt. The individuals that were involved denied the existence of a plot, and the media ridiculed the allegations. The final report of the committee stated that there was evidence that such a plot existed, but no charges were ever filed. The opinion of most historians is that while planning for a coup was not very advanced, wild schemes were discussed.

American Liberty League And Its Aftermath

This is Part 3 of a series Vyzygotn did called the 1934 Coup Boo.

On 15 August 1934, after the onset of strikes that would last until 1938, the American Liberty League, funded largely by the Duponts and their corporate allies, was chartered in Washington. In its six years of existence, the Liberty League fought New Deal labor and social legislation, rallied support for the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, and sought to build a bipartisan conservative coalition to defeat the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and the trade union movement.